An interesting side note to this thread is that the news link in the first post is the same company that runs the rnr races. Ok then.

Road rage sucks. One of my bus drivers at Disney was yelling at traffic and making fun of "stupid people". Didn't seem like he was in a bad mood... that's just how he dealt with traffic. I would think that if one is susceptible to road rage, then 'bus driver' might be a poor choice of occupation.

The sad part is that it was not the first time he pulled that stunt. They didn't decide to pursue the first incident until the second tragedy happened.

Doctors are people and a percentage of them will be sociopaths like the rest of the population. There was recently a news story about a pediatrician in Delaware that accused of being a pedophile and the Fort Hood terrorist was a psychiatrist.

They should make him an example of what will happen if you pull stupid stunts like that...honestly, way too many get away with it. No matter if you are walking, cycling, running, or driving the speed limit (yes, i DON'T want a ticket...surprise, surpirse), it always seems that someone is getting mad at you and pulling stupid stunts.

'No matter how slow you go, you're still lapping everyone on the couch'

"Running is a big question mark that's there each and every day. It asks you, 'Are you going to be a wimp or are you going to be strong today?'" - Peter Maher

"Running long and hard is an ideal antidepressant, since it's hard to run and feel sorry for yourself at the same time. Also, there are those hours of clearheadedness that follow a long run." -Monte Davis

I had a similar incident occur to me while riding my fixed gear. I was lucky enough to stop. When I came along side the person, they told me that I didn't belong in the road (called me a cracker too). The sad part is that people don't know the law. Many states have laws making it illegal to ride a bike on the sidewalk, and in my opinion they don't belong on the sidewalk. Someone riding at 20+ mph definitely should be in the road. Also, it is unsafe for a cyclist to be on a sidewalk, since no one is looking for them crossing the road at that speed. Anyway, when I told someone I knew about this, they told me I was over reacting, since I said it was attempted murder.

I gave up road cycling years ago because I came to believe it just wasn't worth the danger. I agree with some of the comments on the NPR site -- while I was more than willing to do some things to help lessen my impact on auto traffic, like staying to the right of the lane, I eventually stopped doing this and blocked the whole lane when necessary to preserve my own safety.

Too many drivers in general pretty much think their concerns are all that matters -- whether it's cyclists or other cars. These are the same people that pull out in front of you, fly to the front of an ending land and stop up traffic by trying to squeeze in, etc. It's only accentuated when cyclists are involved.

"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand